The Powerball jackpot has climbed to $1.7 billion, and hopeful Texans are lining up at convenience stores to grab their shot at becoming billionaires.
But before you start planning that yacht purchase, here’s a dose of reality: your odds of winning the grand prize are 1 in 292.2 million.
How rare is that? Consider this: you’re about 250 times more likely to be struck by lightning in your lifetime. You’re also more likely to become a movie star, be attacked by a shark, or give birth to identical quadruplets.
Even the odds of being elected President of the United States are better than scratching off the right six numbers.
Statisticians say the lesson isn’t to give up on your ticket - it’s to enjoy the fun of the dream. The dollar or two you spend is really a fee for a few days of imagining life without bills, alarm clocks, or your boss’s emails.
So will anyone actually walk away a billionaire this Saturday? Odds say no.
But someone always does eventually, and until then, Texans can laugh, hope, and maybe keep one eye on the sky for lightning while they check those numbers.
20 Things More Likely Than Winning Powerball
Being struck by lightning in your lifetime – about 1 in 15,300
Being attacked by a shark – about 1 in 3.7 million
Becoming a movie star – about 1 in 1.5 million
Dying from an asteroid strike – about 1 in 74 million
Giving birth to identical quadruplets – about 1 in 15 million
Bowling a perfect 300 game – about 1 in 11,500 for a league bowler
Being killed by a dog bite – about 1 in 112,000
Being killed by hornets, wasps, or bees – about 1 in 59,500
Catching a foul ball at a Major League Baseball game – about 1 in 835
Becoming President of the United States – about 1 in 32 million
Dying in a plane crash – about 1 in 11 million
Drowning in a bathtub – about 1 in 840,000
Becoming an astronaut – about 1 in 12.1 million
Dating a supermodel – roughly 1 in 88,000 (according to some cheeky statisticians)
Being audited by the IRS – about 1 in 160
Finding a pearl in an oyster – about 1 in 12,000
Hole-in-one in golf (amateur) – about 1 in 12,500
Winning an Olympic medal (if you’re an athlete) – about 1 in 662,000
Becoming a billionaire – about 1 in 409,000
Dying from fireworks-related incident – about 1 in 340,000
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